Pink Salmon

The other common name for pink salmon, the humpy, comes from a feature on spawning males. During the mating season, the male salmon develops a large hump on the back. The larger the hump, the greater the chance the male has of attracting a female. This mating strategy works surprisingly well and helps to make the pink salmon the most abundant Pacific salmon species. Every year, large amounts of pink salmon are caught and used as food by people living in western Alaska.